Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Mind, Vol. 5: A Quarterly Review of Psychology and Philosophy; 1880
The history of Physiology can point to no more memorable event than the discovery of the independent irritability of mus onlar tissue. When, in the latter half of last century, it became an acknowledged triith that muscles are themselves possessed of the power of Oreacting against external stimulation, the intelli gibility of life entered a new phase. Living motion, the most salient manifestation of vitality, was thus recognised to be the indwelling property of the very material which exhibits the movements. The bodily substance, the concrete material of the muscle, which - like any other matter - had hitherto been con sidered inert, was now seen to contract by dint of a principle of life residing within its own self; it was found to display its marvellous function of motility independent of outside anima tion, without the slightest intervention on the part of vital spirits descending to it through the nerves. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
